Disclaimer: I don't own them!

AN: Hey again, everybody! This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, and each chapter will feature small random pieces centered on the guys. It's meant to show some of the several sides to each of these characters, besides the obvious ones we always see. The first chapter is Don's, and next up will be Raph's. Please, please let me know what you all think! And enjoy! :)

Donatello, the Peacemaker.

Don is a fairly mild-mannered turtle. His easygoing nature is a stark contrast to Leo's strict authority, Raph's instability, and Mike's unpredictability. Don takes care of the many, many tasks given to him without much complaint. He is a nurturing caregiver when need be, he is quiet and kind, and by nature, he is a pacifist.

Except for when he is most definitely not.

"Mikey…" comes the growl from deep within his throat, its intensity surprising both himself and the cringing turtle in front of him, whose eyes are darting around wildly.

"Whaaaaat? If you don't want people pressing those buttons, you shouldn't make them so big and colorful! That makes them practically scream 'Push me, brotha'!'"

"This is the fourth time…" Don says, low and almost eerily calm, and Mike looks increasingly nervous, which gives Don at least a small bit of satisfaction inside, "the fourth time this week! That you have somehow managed to wreak absolute havoc in my lab! What have I told you, repeatedly, over and over again, hundreds of times now?"

"No more button pushing," Mikey nods in agreement as he attempts to sidle out the door, because Donnie's voice has raised, and man if looks could kill. Long gone is Mr. Nice Don. Mikey peeks up at his brother, who has risen to his full height, a good head above Mike. "Yup, yup. Done and clear. Gotcha. Now if you'll excuse me-!"

"You know, Mike, I have a million and one things I would rather be doing with my time. But not only do I find myself constantly occupied with cleaning up the disasters you cause in my lab," Don carries on, pinning Mikey firmly in place with his glare, "but I'm also endlessly fixing the random things that all of you decide to break! The shell-cells you throw around and smash into bits, without regard to the fact that I'm the one who has to fix them! The TV you and Raph knock over while wrestling! The toaster that breaks every. Single. Day!"

"Uh!... Well, ah, yeah... What I mean to say is... Leo breaks the toaster," Mikey says. "Yeah. Who knew, the dude's a totally aggressive breakfast maker. Maybe we should all sit him down for an intervention-"

The shattering of glass is heard within Don's lab. The brothers both start in unison and look behind Don. Klunk, Mike's cat, standing on top of a table with his back arched, has knocked down each and every liquid-filled test tube that Donnie had just set up. With a displeased 'meow' at the unexpected noise, Klunk leaps down with grace, trotting past a frozen Don and Mike.

The silence is deafening.

Don slowly turns back to Mike who, upon seeing the new look on his brother's face, decides it's high time to make his leave. "Guys! You GUYS! Somebody, help meeeee!"

Mikey may be fast, but with how furious Don is, he's cornered in no time. It's a remarkably short lived battle. After trapping Mikey face down in a headlock on the ground, forcing him into a sworn pact to stay "no less than ten feet away from the lab door at all times", and threatening to turn Klunk into his own personal furry doormat, Don feels at least a tad better. Once satisfied that his point has been made, he stands up and brushes his hands together, strolling back to his lab.

He's stopped in his tracks by a sheepish looking Leo.

"Hey, Donnie."

Don eyes him warily, not failing to notice that Leo's arms are holding something behind his back. "Oh, please, no…"

Leo reveals the item. "Sorry to bug you, but the toaster broke again."

Needless to say, poor, unsuspecting Leo is completely thrown off guard when his peaceful little brother turns red in the face, reaches up to pull out hair he doesn't have, and opens his mouth-

The rest is censored due to colorful language and threats, followed by the sternest, loudest and most terrifying lecture that has ever come out of Don. Eventually all of his brothers, including Raphael, are left wide-eyed in stupefied silence. And he sends them all scurrying off, without a single word of protest, to retrieve a brand new toaster, one that they have vowed to handle with the utmost care in the future.

He may be gentle-hearted and hesitant to resort to violence, but today, his brothers are all reminded not to test their luck and push him past his limits. Donatello's temper, rare as it is, is really something to be avoided at all costs.

Donatello, the Rational.

Donnie is one to think with his head, and not with his heart. He just reckons it's foolish to hold too tightly onto an idea you know isn't logically sound. Even as a child, Don had never been one to make wishes on stars, or to hope too much for miracles; whereas Mike seems to always have his head in the clouds, Don keeps his own two feet firmly planted in the ground. He's a realist.

He knows that the world above will shun them, forever. Harsh as it is, it doesn't anger him and he is not bitter- but he knows it won't change. His family will always be willing to give their lives for the world, but they will never be welcome in it. They'll never belong. Not anywhere but the shadows. It would be silly to think there is anyone out there who would accept them, much less love them, for what they are, because that in itself would be a miracle. And Don is pretty certain he doesn't believe in those.

Except for when he's shown otherwise.

She's the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Granted, she's the only girl he's ever met- but April O'Neil reveals to be much more than her looks, and she treats him nothing like he'd come to expect a human would. Once past her initial shock, April has single-handedly shown them an unconditional love he never imagined they'd receive. That this human, this kind and lovely girl, is the one life has handed them out of all people in a world that fears 'different', is a miracle, as far as Don's concerned.

In her he finds a wonderful friend, an eventual confidante and an intellect to par with his; mostly, Don finds a place where he belongs. A place where he forgets, however briefly, what an outsider he is. April sees him. April understands him, when even his family won't or simply can't. And whereas his brothers find in her a sister or even mother figure, Don finds himself falling in love.

She won't ever be his. He knows that, deep down. In their gentle concern, his family even sits him down at some point to make this clear, when they fear his continuous hope will only hurt him in the long run. He nods and tells them 'I know' because really, he does.

But he'll keep trying, he thinks; maybe even forever. Because she has brought out the dreamer Don didn't know he was, and nowadays, while he lies on the rooftops under the stars with his brothers, all listening to Mikey ramble on about his wild wishes, the logician, the scientist, makes secret wishes, too.

This is thinking with his heart, and not with his head, he knows.

He does it anyway.

Donatello, the Machine.

Donnie is a genius. His intelligence is nothing short of extraordinary. Don, armed with his vast knowledge and his quick-thinking abilities, can always be counted on to handle pressure and pull his family through. He does so every time. The many sticky situations they stumble into require that he has a clear mind to get them back out. When the occasion calls for him to be calculated and precise, and act as efficiently as a machine, Don is able to detach himself, in order to put his incredible mind to work.

Except for when he cannot.

He fumbles around the table clumsily, his hands red and shaking and searching for some tool, though his mind has gone blank on which one. His brother's wound is... awful. Far worse than anything Don has taught himself to care for, as of yet. For the first time, the weight of a brother on their deathbed has been placed on his shoulders, and he is crumbling beneath it. He's trying his hardest to detach, to think, but his pounding heart is all he can hear, and the blood on his hands is all he can see.

"Don, please, you need to do something!" Leo nearly begs, but that can't be right, because Leo has never once begged; he grabs Don's shoulder firmly, a steady anchor as Don had nearly been swaying, and his eyes ask Don to get a grip. Mikey is speechless and that unsettles Don even further; a begging Leo and a silent Mike are more than off-putting. It's all wrong. He doesn't even dare to look at where his third brother lay, because the sight of a dying Raph is even more wrong, and his mind does not deal with 'wrong' well- not when it can't fix the problem, anyway.

"I… can't," he says flatly. The drum of his heart is so loud he wonders if they can hear it, too. He closes his eyes, but he still sees the blood, and a voice inside tells him if you fail here, you always will. "I don't- I don't have the equipment. I haven't even learned how to-"

"Then learn now, Donnie!" Leo barks his order, and his voice is raw, but his hand on Don's shoulder is still firm. "Teach yourself as you go! Mike and I are here, and we'll do whatever you need us to."

Mike shoots to his feet unsteadily, nodding with vigor. In his face Don see's the same belief held in Leo's voice: that their smartest brother will pull through. That their genius, miracle-pulling brother has to pull through. It's terrifying- and it is also the push he needs. He can certainly try to be these things, once again, for them.

So he grabs several books, and he opens up tabs of medical information on his laptop screen. He sends his two brothers running around with rushed orders, he speedily learns as he goes, and he performs procedures he'd never dreamed of doing. It's close, far too close this time, but long hours later, he has just barely saved Raphael.

His conscious brothers hug him, tearfully thank him, and Donnie has still not stopped trembling. He's too frazzled to show his relief with them. All he can think is that he needs to clean his hands.

Don is truly remarkable in his abilities. There is no question of this. But when it comes to his family, it will never really be possible to fully detach.

He may be able to perform like one spectacularly, but if Don were really a machine, something like the sight of Raph's blood on his hands would not have threatened to shut him down.